Revelation 20

Revelation 20:1:
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Revelation 20:2:
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Revelation 20:3:
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Most people, lost and saved, alike, have heard enough of the truth of the scriptures that they know of the Millennial Reign of the Christ. Today, however, most folks have the idea of the Devil being a cartoon character with a long tail and wearing a red pajama suit. These folks, some of them calling themselves Christian, tend not to believe in the second coming of Jesus nor in the truth of Satan. But the truth is that Jesus is returning and the Devil will be contained during His reign.

Revelation 20:4:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Revelation 20:5:
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

These two verses and the next three require a man to think and that is not a popular past time these days. Some today have taken verses 4 and 5 to prove the rule of Christ does not include the members of the Bride but that, in their opinion. It is, however worthy and necessary to note the next three verses before deciding such a thing.

Revelation 20:6:
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Revelation 20:7:
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Revelation 20:8:
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Here is the truth of the whole situation and it looks to me as though the martyrs, if not part of the Bride, are at least their equals. During that thousand years we shall rule together, under the guidance of Jesus, the Christ. Then, after one thousand years of peace, in an agrarian world, the lost will, once more, be deceived by him and gather to do battle with God.

Revelation 20:9:
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Revelation 20:10:
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Here is the portion that, just, baffles me. Satan has had two thousand years to read and to understand the prophecy in this book of the Bible and some of these people will have lived six, seven or even nine hundred years of life, lived under the rule of Jesus and yet they team up to overthrow Jesus and the Saints.

Revelation 20:11:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Revelation 20:13
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Revelation 20:14:
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Revelation 20:15:
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

This is the End of the world! The Earth has been destroyed by fire and all life here has ceased to be and the Second Resurrection has occurred. It is a popular teaching today that all people of all faiths will go to Heaven (Universalism) and in a manor they are correct. I do see the Great White Throne being in Heaven but anybody that is not I the First Resurrection will not be in Heaven for very long. I am, because of my Spirit and prayer filled studies, of the opinion that when one is shown that one´s name is not in the Book of Life, that then the books containing their deeds will be opened and the degree of their punishment will be shown to them and applied. I do believe that many will be cast, along side Satan, into the Abyss, forever. From my studies I have determined that not all in the Second
Resurrection will suffer equally, just as all in the First are rewarded equally.